A Waterloo Region Record blog on the Kitchener Rangers

January 11, 2018

Kitchener 5, London 1

PREGAME

Rangers: 25-13-2-0, second in western conference

Knights: 22-15-2-1, tied for fourth in western conference

Head to head: Season series tied 1-1

Game-time: 7 p.m.

The skinny: At this point one wonders if London will have enough players to dress, especially up front. The Knights unloaded four of its biggest weapons by trading Robert Thomas, Cliff Pu, Max Jones and Sam Miletic in the lead up to the OHL trade deadline. The team has won four of its past five games but this is the beginning of a rebuild and a completely different squad. It's the opposite story for the Rangers, who added impact players at the trade deadline. F Givani Smith and D Austin McEneny will make their debuts tonight. Logan Brown remains out with a knee injury. The Rangers are looking to snap a two-game slide that has seen the club get outscored 13-2.

Keep an eye on: Rangers F Givani Smith had five goals and one assist in six games against the Knights while playing for the Guelph Storm last season.

- In case you missed it, the Rangers inked second r0und draft pick D Michael Vukojevic last night. It was a timely signing and helps make up for the loss of first rounder Grayson Ladd, who was sent to Windsor in the Brown/McEneny deal. The 16-year-old is 6-foot-3 and 212 pounds and was committed to the University of Michigan.

- A few understandably long faces around London's dressing room today after the team traded some popular players.

- Rangers C Greg Meireles has been dealing with an unspecified nagging injury for a while now and it has taken him out of the lineup. He's considered day-to-day for now.

- Kitchener's bus driver is especially sad to see D Grayson Ladd get traded since the rookie was one of the hardest working helpers when it came to loading equipment on and off the bus.

- Rangers rookie D Michael Vukojevic is here in London but sitting out. Team wants to get him in a couple of practices before he suits up. F Logan Brown (knee) is not here.

- Owen Sound captain Jacob Friend ended up getting a four game suspension for his hit to head on Riley Damiani last Saturday.

- Givani Smith made his presence known right away for the Rangers by scoring his 9th of the season and dishing out more hits in the first period than I’ve seen in maybe the last five games (that’s an exaggeration but you get the point).

- Austin McEneny also had a strong debut. He has lots of poise on the ice and is a great communicator with his teammates. Quietly effective and a calming influence in the back end.

- Goalie Mario Culina didn’t see a lot of action but he did turn away breakaways by Evan Bouchard and Liam Foudy. Give the tender 20 saves tonight.

- Two very pretty passing plays by Giovanni Vallati and Joseph Garreffa to set up Logan Stanley’s second and Adam Mascherin respectively.

- It’s the first game since the mass trade exodus in London so things may improve. But the Knights sure looked lost against the Rangers. Could be a long second half of the season for fans at the Bud.

- Draws 31-26 Rangers. Garreffa 7-for-9, Petizian 9-for-14.

- That's two wins in a row against London after losing 14 straight to the Knights.

Comments

Kitchener 5, London 1

PREGAME

Rangers: 25-13-2-0, second in western conference

Knights: 22-15-2-1, tied for fourth in western conference

Head to head: Season series tied 1-1

Game-time: 7 p.m.

The skinny: At this point one wonders if London will have enough players to dress, especially up front. The Knights unloaded four of its biggest weapons by trading Robert Thomas, Cliff Pu, Max Jones and Sam Miletic in the lead up to the OHL trade deadline. The team has won four of its past five games but this is the beginning of a rebuild and a completely different squad. It's the opposite story for the Rangers, who added impact players at the trade deadline. F Givani Smith and D Austin McEneny will make their debuts tonight. Logan Brown remains out with a knee injury. The Rangers are looking to snap a two-game slide that has seen the club get outscored 13-2.

Keep an eye on: Rangers F Givani Smith had five goals and one assist in six games against the Knights while playing for the Guelph Storm last season.

- In case you missed it, the Rangers inked second r0und draft pick D Michael Vukojevic last night. It was a timely signing and helps make up for the loss of first rounder Grayson Ladd, who was sent to Windsor in the Brown/McEneny deal. The 16-year-old is 6-foot-3 and 212 pounds and was committed to the University of Michigan.

- A few understandably long faces around London's dressing room today after the team traded some popular players.

- Rangers C Greg Meireles has been dealing with an unspecified nagging injury for a while now and it has taken him out of the lineup. He's considered day-to-day for now.

- Kitchener's bus driver is especially sad to see D Grayson Ladd get traded since the rookie was one of the hardest working helpers when it came to loading equipment on and off the bus.

- Rangers rookie D Michael Vukojevic is here in London but sitting out. Team wants to get him in a couple of practices before he suits up. F Logan Brown (knee) is not here.

- Owen Sound captain Jacob Friend ended up getting a four game suspension for his hit to head on Riley Damiani last Saturday.

- Givani Smith made his presence known right away for the Rangers by scoring his 9th of the season and dishing out more hits in the first period than I’ve seen in maybe the last five games (that’s an exaggeration but you get the point).

- Austin McEneny also had a strong debut. He has lots of poise on the ice and is a great communicator with his teammates. Quietly effective and a calming influence in the back end.

- Goalie Mario Culina didn’t see a lot of action but he did turn away breakaways by Evan Bouchard and Liam Foudy. Give the tender 20 saves tonight.

- Two very pretty passing plays by Giovanni Vallati and Joseph Garreffa to set up Logan Stanley’s second and Adam Mascherin respectively.

- It’s the first game since the mass trade exodus in London so things may improve. But the Knights sure looked lost against the Rangers. Could be a long second half of the season for fans at the Bud.

- Draws 31-26 Rangers. Garreffa 7-for-9, Petizian 9-for-14.

- That's two wins in a row against London after losing 14 straight to the Knights.